The term ‘national’ reflects a formal bond between a person and the state.8 To determine nationality, it is not only necessary to look at the nationality laws of the states to which a person might have links, but also the practices of the states in applying and/or implementing those laws. A person’s nationality must be assessed at the time of determination of eligibility under the 1954 Convention, which is neither a historic nor a predictive exercise.9 This means that when determining whether a person is stateless, it is not relevant if the person is in the process of naturalising or has the option to acquire the nationality of a particular state. 2.1.2 Causes of Statelessness Statelessness can occur for numerous reasons. The reasons for statelessness can be grouped into three categories: (i) causes linked to the dissolution and separation of states and the transfer of territory between states; (ii) causes linked to the complex technical operation of citizenship laws and administrative practices; and (iii) causes linked to discrimination, for instance on account of gender, age, ethnicity, and/or race, or the arbitrary deprivation of nationality. Under (i) statelessness may occur due to the dissolution and separation of states, transfer of territory between states and the creation of new states. For example, during decolonization processes, groups of persons may have been excluded from the nationality legislation of newly independent states. Statelessness can also be an outcome of the post-colonial formation of states. Large populations have remained without citizenship for decades as a result of such state-building processes in parts of Africa and Asia. In Europe, many people were left stateless after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Examples of causes under (ii) include when there are gaps in nationality laws or conflict between national laws in different states. This can include where national legal systems provide for automatic loss of nationality, for example after prolonged residence in another country. States may also require that a person renounce his or her nationality before acquiring the nationality of another state. Withdrawal or revocation of nationality may also lead to statelessness if there is no adequate safeguard in place to prevent statelessness.10 With the complexity of citizenship laws in different states, many people may fall through the cracks. As regards the presence or absence of administrative practices, the failure or inability to register births can contribute to an increased risk of statelessness. Birth certificates may be a key form of proof to acquire citizenship or prove links to a state, but birth registrations are sometimes complex and involve administrative barriers such as registration fees.11 Language barriers and illiteracy may also hinder people from accessing birth registration authorities or processes. Certain population groups are particularly at risk of statelessness because their situation makes it difficult to access registration of births. These include nomadic and border populations, minorities, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants.12 As indicated above in point (iii), discrimination in nationality law or in practice against certain parts of the population and arbitrary deprivation of nationality contribute to the creation of statelessness. Certain groups within a state or populations living across multiple states are sometimes arbitrarily denied or deprived of nationality based on ethnicity or religious beliefs. Examples of such populations are the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Bidoon in the Gulf region and parts of the Roma population in Europe. Other stateless groups include Kurds from Syria and ethnic Nepalese persons from Bhutan. An underlying theme of some situations of statelessness is ethnic and racial discrimination that leads to exclusion, where political will is often lacking to resolve the problem. 8 UNHCR’s Statelessness Handbook, para 54. 9 UNHCR’s Statelessness Handbook, para 50. 10 For further information see UNHCR, Guidelines on Statelessness No. 5: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality under Articles 5-9 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, May 2020, HCR/GS/20/05, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ec5640c4.html 11 UNHCR, Good Practices Paper - Action 7: Ensuring birth registration for the prevention of statelessness, November 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a0ac8f94.html 12 Ibid. UNHCR 9